Amateur wrestlers are subjected to maneuvers and contact with opponents and the wrestling mat which can result in injuries to the outer ear surfaces and to the forehead. Such injuries can be the result of unintentional blows to the ear by opponents, abrasion by sliding contact with the mat, ie., mat burn, and unintentional head contact between opponents, ie., head butts. As a means of protecting against such injuries, ear guard devices are in wide-spread use and generally provide a reinforced cup shaped protector covering the ears.
Most ear guards are deficient in the level of protection they provide to both the wearer and opponents, either because of insufficient padding and thus reduced shock absorbency or because their construction results in a high profile which can catch on opponents', clothing or equipment. Other ear guards are complex in their construction and strap arrangement which renders them uncomfortable and difficult to adjust on the wearer for proper protection.
In his U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,945, the inventor herein provided an improved ear guard assembly of the type comprising an inner rigid shell with outer shock absorbing foam held in place by an overall encompassing molded flexible outer covering. A plurality of straps attaching directly to the rigid shell interconnect the ear guards to form the assembly. The ear guards of this patent provide a multi-level degree of protection and shock absorbency by means of an inner foam pad and an outer pad of partially compressed foam having a plurality of raised, uncompressed areas or plateaus separated by compressed lands or valleys. However, the ear guard of this patent remains somewhat complex in its construction and adjustability to obtain a proper fit on the user.
A simpler design of ear guard affording easier adjustment for fit is exemplified by Marchello, U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,288, and by Dubner, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,985. In this design, a wrestling helmet is formed from a pair of roughly inverted triangular shaped bulged ear guards each having an upper and a rear strap member integral with its upper corners. The strap members are adjustably interconnected for positioning the guard over the wearer's ears with the rear strap at the rear of the head and the upper strap extending over the top of the head. The lower corners of the guards are interconnected by a chin strap.
In Marchello, the guards and integral upper and rear straps are made from thin, relatively stiff but somewhat flexible sheet plastic which resiliently flexes but remains relatively stiff and self sustaining in the absence of pressure. Each guard has an outwardly bowed ear cup surrounded by a marginal flange. Within the cup is a pad comprising a resilient foam sheet confined between a pair of thin flexible plastic sheets which are bonded together along the peripheral edge of the pad. The pads are positioned within the ear cups so as to not overlap or cover the marginal flange which contacts the wearer's head. Thus, this ear guard provides padding only directly over the wearer's ear with no protection between the cup flange and the wearer's head or on the outer surface of the guard.
In the case of Dubner, et al., a similar construction provides a foam cushion directly over the ear, a non-deformable insert and an intermediate foam layer all located within the cup portion of an outer non-stretchable vinyl guard. As with Marchello, all of the padding is directly over the wearer's ear on the inner surface of the guard and provides only a single level of shock absorbency.
In the present invention, the multilevel degree of shock absorbency and protection of the inventor's prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,945 has been adapted to the Marchello/Dubner style of ear guard to provide a safer and more comfortable apparatus for wrestlers with a greater degree of protection for both the wearer and the opponent.